Do you ever think about things you can do now to help protect yourself against the inability to pay your mortgage in case of financial issues in the future? The CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) has posted an article on their website entitled “Mortgage Planning Tips” giving some great information about how you can be proactive now to possibly prevent damaging financial hardship in the future.
It is always wise not to borrow the maximum amount you have been approved for when it comes to a mortgage. Borrowing the maximum amount you can afford now may not allow you to comfortably cope with unexpected changes in your income or unforeseen expenses in the future.
It is a great idea to sit down with your financial lender to calculate how your monthly mortgage payment would change if the interest rates were to increase (even 1 - 2%) - Could you still comfortably pay your monthly mortgage if this increase should occur? – a very good question to ask yourself BEFORE “signing on the dotted line”.
There are ways to pay off your mortgage sooner in order to have more financial freedom in the future – this could include making weekly or biweekly payments, saving to make a lump sum payment toward the principle and/or increasing your payment a little bit every month. Talk with your financial lender about the options they offer to pay off your mortgage faster.
If you reach a point that you are unable to make your monthly mortgage payments, speak with you lender – they may be able to help you as they may offer ways to help you deal with temporary financial obstacles – Remember, the worst thing you can do is sit back and not do anything and just hope the problem will go away!
For more information regarding these Mortgage Planning Tips please
click here to read the complete article from the CMHC.
Until next time,
The Jamie Dann Team
